Evaluation of anxiety and depression scales and quality of LIFE in cervical dystonia patients on botulinum toxin therapy and their relatives.

[OBJECTIVE] In this study, quality of life and psychiatric comorbid disorders were investigated in patients with cervical dystonia and their spouses and we also investigated the effect of botulinum toxin (BTX) treatment on these parameters.

[MATERIAL AND METHOD] Thirty patients with cervical dystonia (CD) on BTX treatment and their spouses (n = 30) were included. Beck Depression Scale (BDS), State-Trait Anxiety Inventory I and II (STAI-I, STAI-II), Hospital Anxiety Scale (HAS), Hospital Depression Scale (HDS) for psychiatric comorbid disease assessment, Toronto Western Spasmodic Torticollis Scale (TWSTRS) for disease activity assessment, and Craniocervical Dystonia Questionnaire (CDQ-24), Cervical Dystonia Impact Profile (CDIP-58), and Short Form 36 (SF-36) questionnaires for quality of life assessment were used. BDS, STAI-I and STAI-II, HAS, HDS, and SF-36 scales were also obtained from the spouses. The same tests were applied both before and 8 weeks after the BTX treatment.

[CONCLUSION] In our study, an increase in psychiatric comorbid disorders such as depression and anxiety was observed and the quality of life was adversely affected in all areas in patients. In the spouses of the patients, the rates of psychiatric comorbid disorders such as depression and anxiety were found to be increased when compared to healthy subjects while vitality, mental health, and general health perception were found to be negatively affected. Patients showed improvements in anxiety level, disease activity, and overall quality of life scales after BTX treatment.